Chapter 2

Elorai.

I stare at them, unable to believe what they had just said.

“Coming with you?” I repeat, the words sounding foreign to me.

“Yes, what do you mean she’s coming with us?” another seconds.

“Think of what we would be losing should we choose to. She’s the only successful experiment from those damned vermin, and now we’re seeing the results of what they have probably spent decades researching about us. We need to know what they’ve uncovered.”

They all turn to stare at me, contemplating his words.

“You’re right…” the first man growls, rubbing his chin. “We can’t kill her so quickly yet.”

An unfamiliar feeling spreads in my chest—one that tells me this will not bode well.

“She’s coming with us?” the final one, who’s been smirking at me since we met, finally speaks.

“Yes…”

“Nice…” he growls.

“No, I’m not going with you. You’d have to kill me here,” I speak up with a confidence I don’t feel.

One turns to me, his gaze narrowing. The temperature drops a thousand degrees, and I shiver. Still, I hold his gaze.

“I said you’d have to kill me here. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

He laughs. There is no mirth in it. “What makes you think you have any say in how you live or die, you abomination?”

His words sting, but I don’t cower. “I don’t care. You already killed the people I cared about. You might as well kill me too.”

“I will not waste time exchanging words with this… thing. Let’s go,” he orders, walking ahead.

The third one reaches for me, but I scramble away, fury flowing through my veins. How dare they!

They don’t care. They pull me along anyway, weaving their way through the carnage they left behind.

“Let me go! You bastards, let me go!” I scream as I’m dragged along.

Eventually, they have enough.

One turns to me, pinches my neck, and everything goes black, unconsciousness claiming me.

.

.

.

When I finally come back to consciousness, it’s in a small room, devoid of any windows and functioning light. A relentless headache assaults my head, my stomach rolling with nausea. I stay still for a moment, letting the worst of it pass before slowly sitting up on the concrete bed.

What happened?

Just as I ask myself that question, the memories roll in, and a shudder ripples through me. My facility was burned to the ground, my scientists killed—including Penny.

The monsters that captured me—they are the ones who knocked me unconscious. Anger flares within me.

I glare at the door, and as if on cue, it opens, the three men walking into the room, still looking as vicious as ever. Their gazes fix on me, and I tense, my shoulders curling into themselves.

The tiny room doesn’t feel so tiny anymore. In fact, I don’t think there’s any air in it at all.

“Where am I?” I mumble under my breath, glaring at them.

“With us.”

“I don’t want to be anywhere near you,” I spit.

“You have no choice now,” another responds, a bored expression on his face.

“You’re sick if you think I’ll just behave and let you do whatever you want with me.”

“What makes you think we’re letting you be? We’ll find out what those doctors did to you, and we’ll have fun with it. In the meantime, get comfortable.”

“By the way, in case you’re curious, my name is Knox,” the smirking one adds.

“Lucas” the uninterested one quips. They both glance at the unsmiling one. “He’s Ronan.”

“Goodnight,” he grumbles, and they leave the room without another word.

The door slams after them, and I flinch.

The fear I hid away finally bubbles to the surface, and I tremble, my fingers and toes growing cold.

What’s going to happen to me now?

.

.

.

Ronan.

We return back to a more open area, our steps uniform, the tension around us thick and oppressive.

“The council will find out we didn’t kill her and come after us,” Lucas points out, giving me a sidelong glance.

“That doesn’t matter,” I grit out, eyes narrowed. “As long as we kill everyone else. The pack included.”

Knox stares at me. “The pack?”

“Whiteforn Pack. They are the ones who have been working with the humans in the first place, supplying them all those omegas. They all need to go,” I explain.

He nods in understanding.

“You said everyone else. We won’t leave one of those scientists alive to explain to us what they did to the girl?” Lucas queries.

“That’s something we can figure out on our own. Everyone else is dying. We should go. We have no more time to waste.”

Lucas lets out a sigh, but shrugs in agreement.

We turn to the werewolves standing guard at the underground bunker we’ve placed her in.

They immediately bow their heads as we approach, tension radiating off them. “We leave her in your care. Guarantee her safety.”

With a snarl, I add, “Should anything happen to her, you’re as good as dead.”

He nods too quickly. “Yes, Alpha.” He rushes out.

“Good.” I move forward, stepping into the dense forest ahead of me. My wolf, Roco, snarls, ready to pounce.

“Let’s go,” I order.

We disappear into the forest.

.

.

.

Elorai.

I don’t know how long I stay locked in this empty room. It could have been minutes, hours, or even days. I have no idea.

All I know is that I’m slowly going crazy.

The walls seem to be closing in on me, the air smells rotten, and I keep getting flashbacks and nightmares from my time at the facility.

The time my life was completely ruined.

I pace around the small room, occasionally banging on the door, begging to be let out. If anyone is listening, nobody cares.

A strange thought takes me. Maybe I’ve been left to die.

I exhaust myself with worry and fall into a dreamless sleep, only to be awoken by a frightful nightmare that leaves me shaken.

I want out. I need to leave this place. I miss Penny.

After what feels like an eternity, the door finally opens. The trio waltz in again, but this time, they reek of blood. It makes my stomach churn, and I have to resist the urge to retch.

“Hi, Lo. Did you miss us?” Knox asks, a wild smirk on his face.

“Why would I miss monsters like you?!” I spit back, feeling rage seep into my bones.

“Your words hurt, runt. Who are you calling monsters?” he says with a chuckle.

I try to appear intimidating, but it doesn’t work out the way I envisioned. “You are the monsters. The scientists were right to want to get rid of you all.”

At the mention of the scientists, the trio’s whole demeanor changes.

Their eyes flash, a snarl spilling from their lips.

“What did you say?” Ronan asks in a quiet voice. Too quiet.

“The scientists were right to get—” The words have barely left my lips when I’m slammed against the wall, nails digging into my neck.

I choke and struggle, white spots dancing in my vision.

“You’ll pick the humans over us?” he snarls, his eyes turning into slits.

I don’t answer. I’m too busy trying to get rid of the hand wrapped around my throat.

He gives a derisive chuckle. “You’re mistaken. Those vipers are the true evils. And you are a victim.” he growls, eyes shining like the sun.

“No!” I gag out, still flailing my limbs. The remaining two watch on, making no move to help me out of his hold.

Idiots.

“They took good care of me!” I shoot back.

“Explain the scars on your body, then,” Lucan cuts in, staring at the cut marks littering my arms. He narrows his gaze on me. “Because I guarantee you, we didn’t do that.”

Ronan loosens his grip on my throat so I can answer. “I got them when I fell.”

Knox guffaws. “What a cute little lie.”

Something about their reaction sends a pang through me, making my irritation flare even hotter.

“We’d get you out of here, but we don’t know if you’ll behave,” Lucan continues, his voice level.

I stop struggling. I want to get out of here. “I’ll behave.”

They stare at me for a moment, confirming my sincerity. Once they find what they’re looking for, they look away.

Ronan removes his hand, and I crumple to the ground, gasping for breath.

My entire body floods with relief.

Knox lifts me over his shoulder, his hand firm on my back.

I’m tempted to protest but quickly change my mind. I don’t want to attract more trouble.

They step into the woods. The smell of fresh earth and moss invades my nostrils, and I gasp.

It’s so peculiar… and it’s something I’ve never smelled before.

“Hang on tight,” Knox growls, his hold on me tightening.

My eyes widen in confusion, but a scream rips from my throat as we zip through the forest.

What the—?!